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03/10/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles announced Wednesday the signing of cornerback Marlin Jackson to a two-year contract.
Financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
Jackson, a five-year veteran who has spent his entire career with the defending AFC champion Indianapolis Colts, has had each of his last two seasons cut short by knee injuries. He said that he should be fully recovered from his ailments by mid-May or June.
The 26-year-old has played 56 games with the Colts, including 32 starts, and has four interceptions, 13 passes defensed and two forced fumbles. He won a Super Bowl with Indianapolis in 2006 over the Bears.
<< Chiefs sign DT Shaun Smith
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs announced Wednesday
the signing of defensive tackle Shaun Smith.
Terms of the deal were not released.
Smith appeared in only three games for the Bengals last season and recorded
<< G'Town crushes South Florida to advance in Big East tourney
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Monroe finished with 16 points and seven
rebounds, as No. 22 Georgetown defeated South Florida, 69-49, in the second
round of the Big East Tournament.
Jason Clark sank four three-pointers and finishe
<< Mattingly, Dodgers have talked about manager's job
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -On his first day as Dodgers interim manager, hitting coach Don Mattingly said Wednesday the team has made overtures about him eventually becoming Joe Torre's permanent replacement.With Torre en route to Taiwan to manage a Dodge
<< Roughriders extend QB Durant
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed
quarterback Darian Durant, the team announced Wednesday.
Last season with Saskatchewan, Durant completed 339-of-561 passes for 4,348
yards and 24 touchdowns, w
Seven set for Tampa Bay Derby >>
Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Schoolyard Dreams, second in the Sam F. Davis
Stakes, heads a field of seven three-year-olds for Saturday's $300,000 Tampa
Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs.
In recent years the event has become an important
Big 12 Conference Tournament Recaps >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Roberson had 19 points, nine assists
and five rebounds, as Texas Tech downed Colorado, 82-67, in the first round of
the Big 12 Tournament.
Nick Okorie had 18 points, Brad Reese added 16 points and se
Chelios joining Thrashers for 26th NHL season >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers recalled veteran
defenseman Chris Chelios on Wednesday, marking the 26th consecutive NHL season
in which the 48-year-old will participate.
Chelios has spent the entire season wit
Conference USA Tournament Recaps >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Coleman had 29 points and five assists as
Houston downed East Carolina, 93-80, in the first round of the Conference-USA
Tournament.
Kelvin Lewis had 15 points and Desmond Wade added 13 points and seven
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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